come to steal my flowering heart
by queendementor
Summary: meetcute. credence is caught stealing flowers on the way to the cemetery. the man who owns the flowers misunderstands his intentions.
1. Chapter 1

**come to steal my flowering heart**

_a/n: this was written for caesar's palace. i've never written a meetcute (or this pairing) before and probably never will again, so_.

Credence was certain that his sister Chastity, dead three months now, would absolutely not want stolen flowers placed on her grave. But with a job that left him barely enough money to afford to eat, let alone purchase floral arrangements, his options were a bit limited.

So that was just what Credence did. One of the houses he would pass on the way to the cemetery had an abundance of flowers in its garden, and though he knew in his heart that it was wrong to so sneakily take another person's property, no one ever seemed to notice. The owner of the flowers never emerged from the house to chastise him, and they never waited for him to leave the cemetery before snatching them back.

(The owner, however, knew. He merely sat back and watched quietly, letting Credence take what he needed. It didn't bother him. After all, he was hardly the first to do so. And there was something to be said for the furtive way he tried to take them.)

One day, on another trip to visit his sister, Credence reached for a small bunch of flowers, only to look up and find himself face-to-face with the owner of the house.

"I-I'm so sorry, sir," he managed to stammer, eyes wide. "You see..."

"Take what you need," he replied. "Though I think I'd like to come with you. Make sure the girl is pretty enough to warrant flower theft."

That seemed a reasonable compromise...until Credence remembered that he would still have to explain to this man that he was leading him to a cemetery. But still he said, "Yes. Thank you, Mr..."

"Percy," the man answered, the name sliding effortlessly from his lips. "Not much need for formalities when I've provided you with free flowers for so long, is there?"

Credence gaped. How long had Percy...?

"We should be going. You don't want to keep her waiting, do you?"

"Yes, si - Percy," Credence found himself saying, propelling himself forward even as he realized that Percy, falling into step beside him, still had no idea where he was leading him.

He would simply have to tell him before they reached the cemetery. Probably.


	2. Chapter 2

**come to steal my flowering heart**

_ch2 _

_a/n: so i guess i'm doing a multichap now? who even knows._

"So this girl we're seeing," Percy broke the almost-uncomfortable silence as he and Credence walked, the latter having decided on bringing lilies-of-the-valley. "What's her name?"

Credence hesitated a bit before opting to disclose this bit of information. "Chastity."

"Interesting," Percy replied, his tone betraying no hints of whether he approved of this response or not. "And this Chastity, what is she like? What draws you to her?"

With every step they took, Credence became more and more aware that Percy was expecting to be brought to someone whose being was an _is, _not a _was. _A girl who was not Credence's sister. A girl who was very much alive.

And he was about to be disappointed, as Chastity fit none of those descriptions.

"I suppose it depends on how you see it," Credence said finally. It did make sense if he truly thought about it. Would Percy prefer to hear about Chastity as she was when she was alive, or her current form, quiet and unresponsive?

The remainder of the walk was sustained by small talk of the sort that put Credence strangely at ease. How this man could do such a thing was still vastly unknown to Credence, but it didn't stop him from finally seizing his opportunity as they approached the cemetery entrance.

"Chastity—" Credence said at last, glancing up at Percy with a little reservation. "—lives here."

There were no houses close enough to be the place Credence was referring to. The only place he could be referring to was the cemetery.

"Oh," Percy, most likely expecting something much different, said. "I'm sorry. This is not what I expected when I decided to come with you. I assumed you were bringing me to your girlfriend, Credence."

"She was my sister," Credence clarified.

"You could have told me. I would have understood."

In fact, now Percy thought about it, he ought to have pieced it together from the flowers Credence had selected.

Silence loomed over the pair before Percy spoke again. "Well then, I guess my time here is over. Sorry to bother you, Credence. Though you're welcome to my flowers anytime."

"Wait."

Before Percy could take a step, Credence stopped him. With only a vague wonder as to why he was doing this, he continued.

"Would you mind coming with me?"


	3. Chapter 3

**come to steal my flowering heart**

_ch3_

_a/n: in my defense, i never planned to write anything beyond ch1. all this is extra, 'kay?_

The cemetery was quiet, the only sound made by the wind gently slipping through the trees. Somewhere in the distance. a bird chirped softly. The grass below crunched a bit, though not enough to sound, as Credence led Percy to the spot where his sister lay.

A contrast from the older graves they saw, Chastity's was still fresh, the stone only just placed. Twenty years separated her dates of birth and death, the latter only three months prior to the present day. It couldn't be seen, but every time Credence looked at it, he was reminded of how suddenly his sister's finale had come.

"I'm sorry," Percy repeated, looking down upon the grave as Credence lay the flowers beside it. "I'd assumed wrongly. I should have left you to it."

Credence shook his head, coming to stand beside Percy. "Don't worry about it," he mumbled. "I haven't...seen many people since then."

"Oh?" This seemed to pique the man's interest. "Were you particularly close with her, Credence?"

The young man wasn't quite sure how to answer that. He'd been closer with Chastity when they were children, before one turned toward her mother and the other fought to get out. He hadn't even talked to her in months, or seen her in person in nearly a year. But whenever he thought about his sister, he still remembered the tiny girl pulling his sleeve and begging to be played with, and smiled at the memory of her.

"Close enough to bring her flowers, I presume?" Percy answered his own question, for which Credence was grateful as he nodded.

With little else to do in the cemetery, the two began their walk down the neat little pathways and eventually back to Percy's house. In contrast to their walk there, both remained silent. Credence was deep in thought, and Percy seemed to wish to say something but not truly want to do it.

All too soon they were back in front of the house with the elegant garden Credence so admired. He wished he'd thought to ask Percy how he did it, perhaps allowing him to grow his own flowers. Chastity would never know the difference, but he would, and found he might welcome it.

"It was pleasant to meet you, Credence," Percy bid him farewell with a backward wave that seemed out of place on someone so polished. "And do remember, should your sister's resting place require further decoration, there is a Walmart a few blocks from here."

Credence knew he wouldn't be able to afford those, but said nothing but, "I understand. Thank you, si - Percy."

"Or, if those aren't to your liking, you could always continue as you've been. I don't need the flowers myself, they're just there to spruce up the front lawn."

That was always an option more compatible with Credence's price range. He even had to admit that Percy had been the first decent conversation he'd had since Chastity's funeral.

Not that anything would change between them just because Percy had admitted he knew Credence took his flowers.


End file.
